Easy Stuffed Red Peppers with Italian Sausage and Rice
Try this Easy Stuffed Red Peppers with Italian Sausage and Rice recipe
Try this Easy Stuffed Red Peppers with Italian Sausage and Rice recipe
- 1 clove garlic minced
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- 1 teaspoon italian seasoning
- 1 cup uncooked long grain white rice
- 4 slices provolone cheese
- 1 lb ground hot italian sausage
- 4 red or green bell peppers (depends on preference)
- 1/4 medium white onion chopped
- 1 can tomato sauce (our favorite is marinara or a can of
- Carbohydrate 32.5453382898878 g
- Cholesterol 37.026666681635 mg
- Fat 13.029027525792 g
- Fiber 1.53939072560057 g
- Protein 17.1368186501573 g
- Saturated Fat 7.82229050677919 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (276g)
- Sodium 440.623341488207 mg
- Sugar 31.0059475642872 g
- Trans Fat 0.713594250834792 g
- Calories 317 calories
Step-by-step
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Place the rice and water in a saucepan and cook to package instructions. Set aside.
- In a skillet over medium heat, cook onion until translucent, about 3-5 minutes. Add garlic and sautee for 1-2 minutes. Add the hot Italian ground sausage and cook until evenly browned.
- Remove and discard the tops, seeds, and insides of the bell peppers.
- Arrange peppers in a baking dish with the hollowed sides facing upward.
- In a bowl, mix the browned sausage mixture, cooked rice, 1 can tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper.
- Spoon an equal amount of the mixture into each hollowed pepper. Top each pepper with a slice of provolone cheese.
- Bake 20-30 minutes in the preheated oven until the peppers are tender.
Replacing long grain white rice with wild rice alters the moisture absorption rate significantly, requiring an extra quarter cup of liquid during simmering to prevent the grains from remaining crunchy inside the peppers. Red bell peppers offer higher sugar content than green varieties, caramelizing slightly at 350 degrees Fahrenheit to balance the heat of hot Italian sausage. Pairing this substantial main dish requires accounting for richness from the mozzarella and provolone cheeses. Crisp green salads dressed in sharp red wine vinaigrette cut through the heavy dairy fats efficiently. Steamed bitter greens like escarole or rapini provide a strong herbal contrast to the savory pork filling. Crusty sourdough bread mops up excess tomato sauce pooled at the base of the baking dish. Textural contrast depends heavily on baking duration; exceeding thirty minutes breaks down the cellular walls of the bell peppers completely, turning the exterior vessel into mush instead of a sturdy, fork-tender shell. Monitoring the provolone topping prevents excessive browning before the interior reaches serving temperature.
